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  5. Commissioner Hamano of the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and Director General Tang of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) signed the "Cooperation Statement in the field of support for SMEs, Start-ups and Entrepreneurs"

Commissioner Hamano of the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and Director General Tang of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) signed the "Cooperation Statement in the field of support for SMEs, Start-ups and Entrepreneurs"

Japanese

February 21, 2024

External Economic Policy

On Wednesday, February 21, Commissioner Hamano of the JPO and Director General Tang of WIPO*1 signed the “Cooperation statement in the field of support for SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs” and agreed to strengthen cooperation in supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), start-ups, and entrepreneurs in developing countries. This is the first time that WIPO has signed a statement of cooperation with its member countries to provide support for SMEs and startups on a global scale through voluntary contributions.

Overview

On Wednesday, February 21, Commissioner Hamano signed the "Cooperation Statement in the field of support for SMEs, Start-ups, and Entrepreneurs" through the Funds-in-Trust Japan Industrial Property Global (FIT Japan Industrial Property Global)*2 together with Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), who was visiting Japan.

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In the cooperation statement, WIPO and JPO agreed to strengthen cooperation in supporting SMEs, start-ups, and entrepreneurs in developing countries by sharing and utilizing the JPO's experience in IP start-up support programs*3 in the field of intellectual property through the FIT Japan IP Global.

In honor of June 27, "Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day" designated by the United Nations, the immediate goal is to support 627 SMEs, start-ups, and entrepreneurs by June 27, 2026, two years from now, with the ultimate goal of supporting a total of 1,000 companies.

This is the first time that WIPO has signed a statement of cooperation with its member countries to provide support for SMEs and startups on a global scale through voluntary contributions.

In addition to the existing support, it is expected that the initiatives based on the cooperation statement will promote innovation utilizing IP in developing countries, thereby increase user needs indispensable for the development of IP systems within developing countries. The JPO will work to further promote the development of IP systems in developing countries and encourage Japanese companies to develop their businesses in developing countries.

Note:
*1 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): A specialized organization of the United Nations that administers international intellectual property systems
*2 Funds-In-Trust Japan Industrial Property Global (FIT Japan IP Global): A trust fund established based on voluntary contributions from the Japanese government to WIPO. Japan has been making voluntary contributions to WIPO since 1987 through the FIT Japan IP Global, which was established based on these contributions. The Fund has contributed to the development of intellectual property (IP) systems in developing countries through a variety of initiatives over the years, such as holding high-level meetings with various members of countries and regions to promote cooperation in the field of IP, sending experts to develop IP legal systems and operations, holding various workshops, and supporting the digitization of IP Offices.
*3 A Program (Intellectual Property Acceleration Program for Startups (IPAS)) to accelerate startup growth in both business and intellectual property by dispatching a team of business and intellectual property experts to startup companies.
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Division in Charge

International Cooperation Division, Policy Planning and Coordination Department, Japan Patent Office